Portman Ridge Finance Co. (NASDAQ:PTMN) Short Interest Up 22.0% in March

Portman Ridge Finance Co. (NASDAQ:PTMN) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 143,700 shares, a growth of 22.0% from the February 28th total of 117,800 shares. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 40,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Institutional Trading of Portman Ridge Finance

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PTMN. Bulldog Investors LLP raised its position in shares of Portman Ridge Finance by 155.0% during the fourth quarter. Bulldog Investors LLP now owns 216,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,539,000 after buying an additional 131,630 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Portman Ridge Finance during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,702,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in Portman Ridge Finance by 39.5% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 178,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,912,000 after acquiring an additional 50,500 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP lifted its position in shares of Portman Ridge Finance by 50.3% in the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 65,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,068,000 after acquiring an additional 21,859 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP grew its holdings in shares of Portman Ridge Finance by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 106,165 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,735,000 after purchasing an additional 21,425 shares in the last quarter. 30.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Portman Ridge Finance Stock Performance

Shares of Portman Ridge Finance stock traded down $0.25 during trading on Thursday, reaching $13.83. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 16,614 shares, compared to its average volume of 43,950. Portman Ridge Finance has a one year low of $13.77 and a one year high of $20.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 3.14 and a current ratio of 3.14. The firm has a market cap of $127.21 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.38 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $16.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.09.

Portman Ridge Finance (NASDAQ:PTMN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.08). Portman Ridge Finance had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 5.47%. The business had revenue of $14.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.14 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Portman Ridge Finance will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Portman Ridge Finance Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 24th were paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.59%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 24th. Portman Ridge Finance’s payout ratio is currently -293.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Portman Ridge Finance from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th.

Portman Ridge Finance Company Profile

Portman Ridge Finance Corporation is a business development company specializing in investments in unitranche loans (including last out), first lien loans, second lien loans, subordinated debt, equity co-investment, mezzanine, buyout in middle market companies. It also makes acquisitions in businesses complementary to the firm's business.